Special Investigation Branch
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Special Investigation Branch (SIB) was the name given to the
detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads the ...
branches of all three
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military police Military police (MP) are law enforcement agencies connected with, or part of, the military of a state. Not to be confused with civilian police, who are legally part of the civilian populace. In wartime operations, the military police may supp ...
arms: the Royal Navy Police, Royal Military Police and Royal Air Force Police. It was most closely associated with the Royal Military Police, which had the largest SIB. SIB investigators usually operated in plain clothes, although they did wear uniforms when serving overseas. Members were usually senior
non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...
s (
sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...
s or
petty officer A petty officer (PO) is a non-commissioned officer in many navies. Often they may be superior to a seaman, and subordinate to more senior non-commissioned officers, such as chief petty officers. Petty officers are usually sailors that have ...
s or above) or
commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...
s, although the Royal Air Force SIB was open to
corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...
s and Acting Corporals. In December 2022, the new tri-service Defence Serious Crime Unit replaced all three service SIBs, which were disbanded.


Royal Navy Police SIB

The Royal Navy SIB was the smallest of the three SIBs, with the SIO holding the rank of Lieutenant Commander. They investigated: all incidents falling within Schedule 2 of the
Armed Forces Act 2006 The Armed Forces Act 2006 (c. 52) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It came into force on 31 October 2009. It replaces the three separate Service Discipline Acts (the Army Act 1955 (3 & 4 Eliz. 2. c. 18), ...
; * Level 3/4 investigations; * circumstances prescribed in accordance with the Armed Forces Act 2006; * complicated cases involving multiple units (for instance, assaults involving a large number of personnel from different ships).


Royal Military Police SIB

Although an SIB appears to have existed in the
British Army of the Rhine British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was the name given to British Army occupation forces in the Rhineland, West Germany, after the First and Second World Wars, and during the Cold War, becoming part of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) tasked ...
in Germany between 1919 and 1926, the origins of the army's SIB are in 1940, when twenty
Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's London boroughs, 32 boroughs. Its name derives from the location of the original ...
detectives were enlisted in the Corps of Military Police to deal with the pilfering of military stores within the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in
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. The unit was formed on the recommendations of Detective Chief Inspector George Hatherill (who later went on to investigate the serial killers John Reginald Christie and John George Haigh, and the Great Train Robbery) and command was given to Detective Superintendent Clarence Campion, head of Scotland Yard's Criminal Record Office, who was commissioned as a
Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
. Campion was hit in the head by shrapnel during the
Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...
evacuation and died on 20 May 1940, the only SIB casualty of the BEF. After this beginning, the SIB was established on a full-time basis. One of the first group of detectives, Frank Elliott, was sent out to Cairo, Egypt. Under the supervision of Colonel Claude Harper, Elliott managed a 500-man force which investigated crime in Egypt, Palestine and later Libya. The SIB (RMP) consisted of about three hundred personnel, including Scenes of Crime Officers and
forensic Forensic science combines principles of law and science to investigate criminal activity. Through crime scene investigations and laboratory analysis, forensic scientists are able to link suspects to evidence. An example is determining the time and ...
technicians. It was divided into numbered units called Investigation Platoons (for instance, 33 Inv Pl SIB Regt), which are subdivided into Detachments, each usually commanded by a
Warrant Officer Warrant officer (WO) is a Military rank, rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ...
Class 2. There was a section or detachment on most major British Army stations. There was also a Territorial Army section, made up of CID officers and ex-regular SIB. The Headquarters SIB Regiment was located at Campion Lines at Bulford, Wiltshire. Within the RMP, SIB is known as "the Branch" or more commonly "the Feds". In 2006 the SIB was subjected to an inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC). The Armed Forces Bill 2006 seeks to require the SIB to refer investigations into inherently serious crimes directly to the Service Prosecuting Authority (SPA) rather than to commanding officers. SIB recruit class 1 and 2 Cpl's from the General Police Duties employment group of the Royal Military Police, and each candidate undergoes 12 months Foundation Training to determine suitability. During training, an extensive testing phase is completed utilizing the Distance Learning Package (DLP), coupled with a series of exams including the entrance exam. Students who pass the entrance exam are eligible for further training on the Serious Crime Investigation Course (SCIC), a 9-week residential course held at the Defence School of Policing and Guarding, Southwick Park,
Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...
. On completion, successful candidates are placed onto a merit board awaiting full-time employment as an SIB Investigator. Passing the SCIC does not automatically qualify candidates employment with the SIB, and all candidates who were successful in passing the SCIC but unsuitable for employment with the SIB will be returned to their respective unit as a Level 3 trained investigator.


Royal Air Force Police SIB

The Royal Air Force Police Special Investigation Branch, formed in 1918, had the distinction of being the only branch-specific investigative unit entrusted with a major
war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
. Five officers and fourteen NCOs were given the assignment of investigating the Stalag Luft III murders immediately following the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. "The Stalag Luft III case was the only major war crime ever entrusted to a separate arm of the Service, undiluted with 'specialists' from other Services." In direct recognition of this, the RAF Police SIB was granted permission to use The Great Escape March as its distinct march by CAS in 2015. The Royal Air Force Police previously had one SIB Squadron based at RAF Halton with two subordinate Flights: SIB A Flt based at RAF Halton, and SIB B Flt based at RAF College Cranwell, this Squadron sits within No. 1 Specialist Police Wing. Personnel undertook the Serious Crime Investigation Course (SCIC) before going on to complete a number of Home Office courses such as SOIT, National drugs, and Tier 2,3 & 5 interviewer, Family Liaison Officer, Specialist Fraud etc. The RAF Police SIB differed slightly from its RMP counterparts in terms of rank structure, employing a mix of Corporals and Sergeants. Both SIB(S) and SIB(N) additionally employ a number of Acting Corporals. SIB personnel extensively deployed with their RMP SIB counterparts throughout the duration of Operation Banner, Northern Ireland; Operation Telic, Iraq; and Operation Herrick, Afghanistan in support of combat operations. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary conducted an inspection of the SIB in 2009.


Disbandment and replacement

In 2017 a Service Justice System review commenced that evaluated the current Service Justice System, and identify ways the system could be improved, led by retired senior Crown Court judge Shaun Lyons. The second report from this review, ''Service Justice System Policing'' evaluated the special police organizations, which included special investigation bureaus. The report identified the three individual SIBs as being inefficient and actually interfering with investigations, with skill and experience issues and "overlap of function, duplication of effort, poor intelligence flows and an absence of skill transfer". The report turned to a similar issue that had been identified in the early 2000s where individual civilian police forces were increasingly unable to cope with increasingly complex and international organized crime investigations. The solution was setting up Regional Organised Crime Units that united personnel and resources, that better facilitated improvements in investigations and the flow of intelligence between units. In December 2022, the Defence Serious Crime Unit was formed to replace the three separate strands of single service SIBs. It is headquartered at Southwick Park, and comprises personnel from all three services. Its remit is to investigate serious crimes outside of the normal chain of command.


See also

* '' Redcap'' (1960s ITV series) * '' Red Cap'' (2000s BBC series) * Cormoran Strike (fictional private detective and ex-Army SIB)


References


External links


Royal Military Police Association (SIB Branch)

ROYAL MILITARY POLICE - SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS BRANCH (UNITED KINGDOM)
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British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
official website {{UK private and military police forces Military police of the United Kingdom